Back Together
by Amonshy
Summary: Echizen Ryoma finally comes back to Japan after two years to go to the same high-school as his sempai-tachi. - Shounen-ai.
1. Chapter 1: Back to Japan

**Author's Note:** Hi everyone!

It's really nice that you found my story. Well I just wanted to tell you a few things first. Though you could just skip this and continue reading I guess.

Anyway first of it's been a while since I've watched Prince of Tennis and I'm afraid I missed a few episodes before. =( So now I'm re-watching the series. So it could be that I make a few mistakes concerning what happened before, but since my story takes place after Ryoma comes back, it shouldn't matter too much I hope. Just tell me if I mixed something up or got it wrong.

Second I'm not really sure yet as to how this story is going to play out, although I do have a few ideas. So I'm open for suggestions. So just tell me if you want something special to happen in this story and I'll see if it can be worked into it. =)

And last... well I've read a few shounen-ai stories the last few days and thought maybe I could try it too... I'm not sure yet about the couple or couples(?). But Ryoma should be part of the main-couple. So if you have any wishes as to who his partner might be, please don't hesitate to tell me. It'll probably be the pair with the most votes, but since I'm not sure how many will read this, I'll just think of some possible pairings myself for now and leave a few possibilities open. =)

**Warnings:** None in this chapter. Shounen-ai in later chapters. Sorry if you don't like it but I'm sure you'll find another nice story around here. =)

**Disclaimers:** Well you all know it but I don't own either the anime 'Prince of Tennis' nor do I own the manga or any of it's original characters.

**Summary:** Echizen Ryoma finally comes back to Japan after two years to go to the same high-school as his sempai-tachi.

Ah "This" is what characters say and "_This_" are their thoughts. "**That**" will be in English.

And with that I hope that you'll enjoy reading my story. =)

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><p><strong>Back Together<strong>

**Chapter 1 – Back to Japan**

It had been two years since they – the regulars of Seishun Gakuen or short Seigaku, a junior high school in Tokyo – had won the Nationals and Echizen Ryoma had left for America.

Ryoma still thought about the great times he'd had with his teammates back then. He sighed and looked out of the window at the white clouds below.

That's why he was in the plane now...

_**-Flashback-**_

Ryoma woke up that morning after he'd dreamed of the National Tournament again. He'd had that dream more and more often recently, even though it's already been such a long time since then.

But he just couldn't forget – not that he wanted to. It had been great after all. How they had all worked so hard together to not only make it to the Nationals but also winning. He still thought about his match with Yukimura Seiichi the team captain of Rikkai Dai tennis club that day, the match that would decide everything. And thankfully he'd won so that all their hard work hadn't been for nothing. And the celebration afterwards at Kawamura's Sushi had been great too since everyone had been so happy...

A while later he'd had to go back to America for the U.S. Open and stayed there for other tournaments later, but he'd been quite sad at first since he wouldn't be able to see his friends for quite some time – not that he would admit even to himself just how much he missed them.

But he'd told himself that most of his sempai-tachi had changed schools anyway, so he couldn't play with them as much as before anyway. So he'd concentrated completely on tennis.

But now it had almost been two years and he would start high-school soon.

With that thought in mind he stood up and went down to talk to his parents.

_**-End Flashback-**_

Ryoma had convinced his parents that he wanted to go back to Japan for high-school. Well he'd mostly had to convince his father – Echizen Nanjiro – since his mother – Echizen Rinko – had agreed almost immediately.

She'd been worried about Ryoma for a while now since he'd barely done anything that didn't have to do with tennis recently and his only friend in America had been Kevin Smith. They'd become best friends actually and done almost everything together. Ryoma sure would miss him now that he finally went back but Kevin had decided that he would come visit soon.

But his father had eventually agreed as well. After all his tennis had gotten much better the first time they'd come to Japan.

* * *

><p>"<strong>Please take your seats and fasten your seatbelts. We'll arrive at the airport in fifteen minutes.<strong> Please take your seats and fasten your seatbelts. We'll arrive at the airport in fifteen minutes."

The announcement jolted Ryoma from his thoughts. He sighed again and put on his seatbelt.

When he looked out the window awhile later he could already see the lights of Tokyo shining brightly under them. It was already 2:07 a.m. in Japan after all.

A few minutes later the plane had reached the gateway and after he few more minutes they were finally allowed to exit the plane.

As Ryoma stepped of the plane, he breached in deeply. Not that the air was that good in the airport but it felt great to finally be off that plane. "_And in Japan as well._" Ryoma thought as he went to get his luggage.

* * *

><p>It took him almost an hour to finally get his bags. He couldn't believe how many people were there in the middle of the night. "<em>They really should rethink their flight-schedules.<em>" Ryoma muttered tiredly to himself.

But well he finally had everything so he left the airport through the main-gate and pulled out his mobile phone to call his cousin Meino Nanako.

Ryoma waited a few rings and then Nanako answered with a cheerful "Moshi moshi.". He had no idea how one could be that cheerful at such a late hour. But then again she was almost always cheerful.

"Hi. I'm at the airport." Was Ryoma's short response.

But Nanako didn't mind. Ryoma had never been the talkative type after all. So she just told him to go to one of the parking lost near the airport and wait there.

Ryoma carried all his bags there and found a vending machine so he bought himself his first grape Ponta since before he'd gone back to America.

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><p>About half an hour later Nanako finally came.<p>

"Ryoma-san, it's so nice to see you again!" Nanako greeted happily as soon as she'd stepped out of her car.

"Hi." Ryoma greeted back and yawned hugely behind his hand.

"Ah. You must be tired after the long flight, Ryoma-san. Here give me your bags and get into the car."

She loaded everything in the back of the car and drove towards their home. It was the same house from two years ago and they would be staying there alone for a while since Ryoma's parents were still in America and weren't sure yet when exactly they would follow.

Nanako really had a lot of things she wanted to ask Ryoma. But as she glanced over at him a few minutes later she saw that he'd already drifted of to sleep. So she smiled sweetly at him and decided to talk to him in the morning.

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><p>"Ryoma-san... Ryoma-san, wake up. We're home." Nanako called quietly since she didn't want to startle him. She reached over and gently shook Ryoma's shoulder.<p>

"Um... Huh..?" Ryoma slowly blinked his eyes open and rubbed them groggily looking around.

"We're home, Ryoma-san." Nanako repeated and exited the car. She got the bags out the back while Ryoma finally stepped out as well.

He looked at the house and smiled faintly. "_Finally home._" He thought and slowly followed his cousin inside taking a back from her.

"Ah, thank you, Ryoma-san. I've already prepared your old room for you. So you can go straight to bed and I promise I'll prepare a great Japanese breakfast for you tomorrow." She said happily as they carried everything up to Ryoma's room and placed it on the floor. Before Ryoma just laid down on his bed and promptly fell back asleep.

Nanako chuckled softly and covered Ryoma with a blanket. "Good night, Ryoma-san. It's good to have you back." She whispered before she left the room and quietly closed the door behind herself.

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><p>TBC<p>

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Well that was the first chapter of my first 'Prince of Tennis' fan-fiction.

I hope you liked it. Please leave a review and tell me what you think. (Even if you didn't like it – tell me what I can do better.)

Anyway the next chapter will be a bit more interesting I think, since the people will talk a bit more, instead of just sitting around for hours first in a plane and then in a car, and Ryoma won't be almost falling asleep the whole time anymore. =) Well let's see what's going to happen, ne? =)

lg Amon


	2. Chapter 2: At the streetcourts

**Author's Note:** Hi everyone!

I already got 4 reviews. Wow. =) And well they said I should continue this story. So here it is. But first: Thank you AnimeLower423, animelover4ever69, Peridot15 and kiiyouko for the reviews. I was really surprised how fast some of you were. =)

And well concerning a pairing for this story, I only got one vote so far. (Again thank you AnimeLower423.)

This is the vote for now:

Echizen Ryoma/Kikumaru Eiji : 1

Echizen Ryoma/Fuji Shusuke : 1

If you want a pairing you can still leave a review with your favorite.

**Warnings:** None in this chapter.

And with that I hope that you'll enjoy the second chapter of my story. =)

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><p><strong>Back Together<strong>

**Chapter 2 – At the street-courts**

When Ryoma woke up it was already a little after 2:00 p.m. But it had been past four in the morning after all when he'd finally gotten home and to bed after hours in a plane. So considering he usually liked to sleep in, he was up pretty early.

He sleepily rubbed his eyes, stretched lazily and grabbed his alarm clock. "Hm..." Ryoma wondered what he should do today while got out of bed.

He grabbed some clean clothes out of one of his bags since he'd slept in his other clothes and went into the bathroom for a quick shower and to change. "_Well... I guess I should unpack my things... but first some breakfast._" Ryoma thought while he got ready for the day.

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><p>Nanako was busy cleaning the kitchen when she heard the shower get turned on upstairs.<p>

"_Ah, Ryoma-san is up._" She thought smiling and got to finishing his Japanese breakfast as she'd promised him the night before which only took a few minutes since she had already prepared most of it before Ryoma stood up because she hadn't been sure when he would wake up. It had been a long night for him after all.

Just as Nanako put the last plate on the table, she heard someone come down the stairs.

A moment later Ryoma trudged around the corner and into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Ryoma-san." Nanako greeted cheerfully. "Did you sleep well?"

"Morning." Ryoma mumbled sleepily while sitting down at the table and rubbing his eyes. "Yeah. Itadakimasu." He said before starting to eat.

"I'm so grad you finally came back, Ryoma-san. When you left for America with your parents I feared that you'd never come back. Obasan said that you wanted to come back to Japan because you wanted to go to Seigaku again?" She tried to start a conversation.

"Yeah." Ryoma mumbled courtly.

"_Hm. As conversational as always..._" Nanako thought to herself, but she wouldn't give up yet. "Well I understand that you missed your friends. They were pretty nice when they came over. Did you tell them that you came back?"

Ryoma swallowed the last of his breakfast and finally answered with more than just one little word. "No, it was decided pretty fast and I guess I'll run into them anyway. So it doesn't really matter. And if I don't, I'll just see them at school."

"But it's still a week until then. Ah, I know. Why don't you go out for a bit today? Go into the town or something and you might see them." Nanako suggested cheerfully with a happy smile. "I'm sure they'll be more than happy to finally see you again as well."

"Fine." And with that Ryoma went to the front-door to put on his shoes and grab his tennis-racket while Nanako stopped in the doorway of the kitchen and watched him from there.

"Itte-kimasu." He said when he opened the door and stepped out.

"Itte-rasshai. And have a nice day Ryoma-san." Nanako answered before he closed the door and she went back into the kitchen to clean up. "_I sure hope he'll meet some of his old friends... from what obasan said he was pretty lonely in America. Well except for his one friend..._"

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><p>Ryoma wandered through the city and wondered where he should go. He decided to go to the street-courts where he and Momoshiro Takeshi had first played doubles together.<p>

When he reached them he saw no one he knew, so he went to a nearby vending machine to buy a Ponta.

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><p>Meanwhile Kikumaru Eiji reached the street-courts from another direction and looked around.<p>

He'd originally wanted to meet up with his doubles partner Oishi Shuichiro but he'd called him at the last minute and apologized that he couldn't make it because something suddenly came up.

But since Kikumaru had already stood in front of his house, he'd decided to go out for a bit anyway hoping that he would find someone to hang out with.

Although looking around the courts he couldn't see anyone interesting.

Disappointed Kikumaru was just about to turn around and go somewhere else when something out of the corner of his eyes caught his attention.

"Huh?" He turned towards it and looked closer. "O... Ochibi?" He muttered surprised and stared at him open-mouthed.

There at one of the vending machines stood a boy with black-green hair. It was a bit longer than before and held back in a small ponytail, but he'd recognize the color anywhere and even more so the trademark cap the boy wore. He was taller than before but still a little shorter than him and pretty slim. But he still looked like Echizen Ryoma.

"_But Ochibi is supposed to be in America, right? How could he be here... But he looks so much like Ochibi..._" He wondered hoping that it really was him.

Just then the boy turned around and Kikumaru saw his golden eyes. His face looked less child-like than before but it was still obvious who he was. And those beautiful fiery eyes! Every doubt he'd had left left him the moment he looked into them and he run over to him.

"Ochibi!" Kikumaru called out happily just before he jumped onto the boy and gave him an even tighter hug than usual since he hadn't been able to do so for such a long time and he'd really missed it. After all it wasn't the same when he hugged someone else.

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><p>Ryoma stumbled surprised when he was suddenly tackled and then nearly crushed a moment after he turned around and he was glad that he hadn't opened his Ponta yet. Although he had a bigger problem right then than some spilled Ponta even thought that was already terrible enough. But right then he couldn't breath!<p>

Ha gazed at his attacker and tried to get enough air into his lungs to speak.

"Wah, Ochibi. I missed you so much, nya!" Kikumaru exclaimed and hugged him even tighter if that was even possible. "What are you doing in Japan? I thought you were in America. And why didn't you tell me you were coming? I would have come to greet you. And..."

"Kiku..maru...s-sem..pai." Ryoma interrupted his chatter breathlessly. He was already turning blue and really missed Oishi-sempai right then since he usually saved him from Kikumaru's 'death-hugs'.

Kikumaru stopped talking and looked down at Ryoma wondering what he wanted.

"I... I c-can't... breathe..." Ryoma somehow found the air to get the words out.

Kikumaru immediately let go of him slightly startled. "Wah. I'm sorry, Ochibi! Gomennasai." He looked at the younger boy worriedly. "Nya, are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah. It was nothing, Kikumaru-sempai." Ryoma answered still slightly gasping for air but his color was returning to normal. He opened his Ponta and drunk a gulp to help calm his breathing.

"Good." Kikumaru smiled brightly at him and asked curiously what he'd quietly wondered the whole time. "So what are you doing here, Ochibi? Why aren't you still in America, nya?"

"Not that I want you to still be there." He added quickly.

"Aah... I thought I could go to Seishun Gakuen high-school..." He answered hesitantly cautiously eying the older teen, afraid he'd get crushed again.

"What? Then we'll go to the same school again." Kikumaru shouted excitedly. "That's great, nya! We really missed you there. The club just wasn't the same without everyone there. Just wait until the others hear that. They'll be so happy." He went on, barely stopping to breath. "Especially Momo. He really missed you. Well we all did but you were best friends after all."

"Yeah... It's good to be back." It was the closest that Ryoma would come to admit that he missed his old teammates as well.

Kikumaru knew this and smiled widely. "So what do you want to do now, Ochibi? Want to play a friendly match with me?"

"Sure." Ryoma answered smiling slightly and Kikumaru smiled even wider upon seeing the honest smile on Ryoma's face instead of the usual cocky grin.

Ryoma threw his empty Ponta into a nearby trash can and they went to an empty court. The street-courts had been extended over the two year so that you could play singles now as well instead of doubles only.

* * *

><p>After three matches which Ryoma won they went back to the vending machine and bought some drinks.<p>

"Wow. You've gotten even better at tennis then before, Ochibi." Kikumaru praised as they sat down on a nearby bench and watched some other matches.

"Well what did you think I did in America?" Ryoma replied with a cocky grin before sipping his Ponta.

"Hehe. Right... So what do you want to do now, nya? It's still early and I don't want to go home yet." Kikumaru thought for a bit before exclaiming. "Ah, I know."

Ryoma looked at his sempai curiously. "What?"

"Let's go for burgers, nya! It's been quite some time since we last went out after all, ne?" Kikumaru suggested happily, bouncing excitedly on his seat. "Oh and I'll pay this time. Let's make it your welcome-back-burger-eating." He added grinning.

"Heh. Sure if you want to go that badly, sempai." Ryoma agreed since he was quite hungry after the matches. Besides he would never refuse free food after all.

"Great. Let's go." Kikumaru grabbed Ryoma's arm and practically dragged him away from the street-courts and towards the burger shop while constantly talking about what happened while Ryoma wasn't there.

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><p>TBC<p>

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Well that was the second chapter. I hope you liked it. Please leave a review and tell me what you think. (Even if you didn't like it – tell me what I can do better.)

And don't forget to vote for Ryoma's partner or a side-pairing. =)

Oh and do you want Ryoma to get his hair cut like it was before? Or keep it long? You'll get to know why he let it grow in the first place later on.

**Japanese vocabulary****:**

"Itadakimasu." – Said before you start eating and sometimes translated as "Let's eat.".

obasan – aunt

"Itte-kimasu." – "I'll go now."

"Itte-rasshai." – "Get back well."

Ochibi – little boy – Kikumaru's nickname for Ryoma

"Gomennasai." – "I'm sorry."

lg Amon


	3. Chapter 3: Burger meet

**Author's Note:** Hi everyone!

First I want to thank you kiiyouko and Peridot15 for the reviews. You are amazing. Just 16 minutes and the first review was there. Guess it proves that your comment was right and you really can't wait. =) Thanks a lot. It made me continue to write after only a short break.

Although thanks to AnimeLower423, SelfHatedIsCommonEnough, Sanfina and NyanNaia for the reviews and advise. I fixed the mistakes in the previous chapters that one mentioned. =)

Thank you, Loocoforcoco-123, BronzeButterfly18, Zwolftd, Sanfina, Shikamura's lazy twin and yukichan10 for voting. And no it doesn't matter if one of the guys goes to another school. Although I'll have to re-watch the series faster that way since I didn't reach the parts where some of them appear yet.

Hope I didn't forget anyone. If I did I'm really sorry.

This is the vote for the main pairing:

Echizen Ryoma / Kikumaru Eiji : 5

Echizen Ryoma / Fuji Shusuke : 4

Echizen Ryoma / Yukimura Seiichi : 2

Echizen Ryoma / Momoshiro Takeshi : 1

Echizen Ryoma / Atobe Keigo : 1

Echizen Ryoma / Sanada Genichiro: 1

And a vote for some kind of love triangle.

side pairing:

Kikumaru Eiji / Oishi Shuichiro : 1

If you want a pairing you can still leave a review with your favorite. But the voting will probably end soon.

**Warnings:** None in this chapter.

And with that I hope that you'll enjoy the third chapter of my story. =)

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><p><strong>Back Together<strong>

**Chapter 3 – Burger meet**

Ryoma and Kikumaru finally reached the burger-shop and stepped inside. Ryoma looked around but didn't see anyone he knew. So he followed his sempai to the counter to place his order.

When they had everything, they sat down near the windows overlooking the street.

"Nya, Ochibi? Isn't it nice to sit here together again?" Kikumaru exclaimed excitedly as he thought back to three years ago.

"Yeah." The younger boy mumbled between bites of his burger.

They talked a bit more about the past for a few minutes. Until suddenly another teen came up to them and took Ryoma into a tight headlock while exclaiming an excited and quite loud "Echizen!".

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><p>Momoshiro Takeshi rode on his bike into the city and stopped at a sports shop. He secured his bike and went into the shop.<p>

Walking around the aisles, he looked at all the new equipment bored. "_Damn. It's really boring to go shopping alone. It was much more fun with Echizen._" He thought smiling slightly. He really missed his little kouhai. Teasing him, giving him a headlock, stealing his cap to ruffle his hair,... or just hanging out together after practice. "Oh, well..." Momoshiro sighed and continued looking around.

He picked out some new grip tape, paid and left the shop wondering what to do next. "_Maybe __Kikumaru-sempai wants to hang out for a while. Or Kawamura-sempai... though he's probably helping in his dad's sushi shop right now..._" Momoshiro contemplated while looking around. "_Maybe I'll just check out the street courts for now..._"

He already wanted to leave when his gaze passed the window of the shop a little down the other side of the street.

Momoshiro looked closer at the sight that had caught his attention and couldn't believe what he was seeing. "It can't be... Right?" He muttered quietly to himself.

There in the window sat a young teen with black-green hair and golden eyes wearing a white cap. But it couldn't be who he thought it was, could it? After all he was supposed to be in America. But then he saw the other boy he was with. "_Kikumaru-sempai?_" He looked closer at the second boy. A bouncing redheaded teen. Yup, there was no mistake. That was his hyperactive sempai. "_But then... that's really Echizen, isn't it?_"

Momoshiro still didn't understand how his little kouhai could be sitting there in the burger shop they'd always gone to after practice. But he didn't want to think about it now. He would ask him later.

Momoshiro grinned widely and ran over as fast as he could.

The two didn't notice him so he sneaked up to them after he entered the shop and pulled the younger one of them into a tight headlock exclaiming and nearly shouting a happy "Echizen!" while grinning even wider.

* * *

><p>Ryoma glared up at his attacker as best as he could considering his position and Kikumaru stopped mid sentence and looked at his companion surprised.<p>

"Urgh... It hurts, Momo-sempai." Ryoma accused and was released almost immediately.

"Hoi hoi, Momo. What are you doing here, nya?" Kikumaru exclaimed excitedly bouncing on his chair before Momoshiro had a chance to respond.

Momoshiro looked over at him. "Aah, I just left the sports shop at the other side of the street when I saw you guys sitting here. Really, what are you doing here, anyway? Huh? You could have told me you where here." He grumbled angrily looking back at Ryoma. "I'm your best friend after all, aren't I, Echizen?"

Ryoma stopped rubbing his neck and glanced up at him. "Yeah. Anyway I didn't tell anyone that I was coming back, so it doesn't matter."

"Well why didn't you tell us then?" Momoshiro inquired further sitting down next to the younger boy.

"Yeah, Ochibi, you should have called us, nya." Kikumaru chimed in.

Ryoma looked down and sighed. "_Guess I'll have to tell them something..._" Looking back up he told them that it had been decided rather suddenly that he would go back to Japan for high school instead of finishing it in the states and that he'd barely had the time to pack everything he wanted to take with him right away, what they would send to be delivered to their house and to sort out the things he didn't need anymore. All in all it had been really busy for the few days before his flight.

The others listened intently.

"Hm... Well you could still have called once you where here. Yes, you could." His closest friend continued.

"Well I only got here at two a.m. this morning and it was already four when I finally made it home." He defended himself. "So I was really tired and when I woke up and went for a walk I already ran into Kikumaru-sempai. So it didn't matter anymore."

"Oh, so you would have called us if you hadn't run into him?" Momoshiro asked doubtful.

"Che. I would have run into you sooner or later anyway. You're here now, right?" Ryoma really got annoyed with all the questions.

Kikumaru noticed it and decided to change the subject. "Right, right. And Ochibi will go to our school next week, too. So we'll see him again everyday, nya." He said happily while glomping onto Ryoma.

"Sempai, let go." The younger boy protested immediately.

Kikumaru pouted but let go of him.

"Fine, whatever." Momoshiro gave up. "_Well that's just like Echizen after all, I guess._"

"So where will you live now? The old place again?" He questioned instead.

"Hai." Was the short answer in a still slightly annoyed tone.

But Momoshiro ignored it since he was happy that his little kouhai would live there again. He'd always looked at the house when he'd driven past it on his way to school or practice. Even after he was long gone.

"Nya. Come on. Don't be mad, Ochibi." Kikumaru had recovered from his disappointment of not being allowed to hug him already, and was bouncing in his chair again and now started to poke his friends cheek instead, trying to get him to smile, completely ignoring the fact that he was rather annoying him more while doing so.

Ryoma just scowled at him and swatted his hand away.

While Momoshiro just grinned at the scene. "Hey, Echizen." He tried to get the other's attention again.

"Hn."

"Let's do something tomorrow." He suggested still grinning widely.

The younger teen frowned slightly. "What do you want to do?"

"Hm... well... we could..." Momoshiro thought for something they could do. He could offer a tennis match but he guessed he would lose anyway. Without even having the slightest chance if the younger boys match in the Nationals finals was any indication. "_Besides it's supposed to be really hot tomorrow._"

"Hey, hey. I wanna go, too. Nya." Kikumaru chimed in again.

"We haven't even decided yet what we're going to do." Momoshiro protested.

"_Who said I was going anyway._" Ryoma wondered but decided to let the others discuss what they wanted to do. He could always protest later after all.

"And who said that you could come along anyway?" The power player continued.

"Ehhh? Why? Why can't I come? Come on, Momo. Don't be so mean, nya. Let me come. Let me, nya." Kikumaru whined in one breath nearly jumping up and down in his chair. But then he got an idea. "Ah. I see." He grinned at the other boy widely chuckling lightly.

"What?" Momoshiro asked cautiously eying his sempai while Ryoma looked at him as well now.

"Nya, you want to go on a date with Ochibi-chan, nya. A date, nya." He exclaimed teasingly.

"WHAT? NO!" Momoshiro shouted drawing the attention of nearly everyone in the shop.

Ryoma looked over at him and saw that he'd turned a deep red. He smirked slightly while Kikumaru grinned widely at him enjoying the other's embarrassment.

"I just... We just haven't seen each other in a long time, alright? And I thought it would be nice to do something together... and catch up on what happened in the two years... or something like that. It's not a date..." He continued defending himself still blushing madly. "_Jeez. How can he even think that? Echizen and I are best friends after all. So there's nothing weird in doing something together. Jeez._"

Kikumaru laughed. "Hehe. Calm down, Momo. I was just teasing ya, nya."

Momoshiro just scowled at him and muttered a "whatever" before turning to Ryoma instead, still blushing lightly. "So what do you want to do tomorrow? But I guess it'll be a bit too hot for much tennis. It said that it'll be the hottest day this year so far."

"Ah. I know. I know what we can do, nya!" Kikumaru interrupted inviting himself again at the same time.

"What?" Ryoma asked before his other sempai could protest again because he was becoming bored with the topic and wanted them to decide finally. It was already getting late after all and he was still tired.

"We could go swimming, nya!" The overexcited boy exclaimed happily bouncing in his chair again.

"_Swimming? Well I guess it's not a too bad idea._" Momoshiro thought. "Fine with me. So when will we meet?"

"How about 2:00 p.m. At the station near the swimming pools we went to before?" Kikumaru suggested still bouncing.

"Alright. Don't be late, Echizen." He teased his best friend.

Ryoma scowled up at him. "Who said I was going?"

"Ehhh? But you have to come, Ochibi. It won't be fun without you, nya!" Came the immediate protest just as he'd expected.

"What do you mean it wouldn't be fun without him?" Momoshiro interrupted. "But he's right, Echizen. You have to come. Yes, you have to."

"Che. Whatever."

"Yay. It'll be great, Ochibi. Nya. We can swim and eat ice cream, nya. And play together. And..."

"Yeah, we get the picture, Kikumaru-sempai." Momoshiro interrupted again. "Well it's getting late. We should go home soon."

"Whaaa, you're right! I have to be home in twenty minutes, nya." Kikumaru said shocked that it was already that late when he looked at his watch. He'd had such a great time that the time had practically flown by without him noticing.

"See you tomorrow, nya!" He shouted jumping up and already halfway to the door catching every ones attention again.

The other two stared after him for a moment, surprised at his sudden departure.

"Well... guess we should get going, too." Momoshiro said standing up much slower than the hyperactive sempai had with Ryoma following. "My bike is still outside of the sports shop over there. Let's get it and I'll give you a ride home." He offered.

"Sure." The younger boy agreed glad that he didn't have to walk back. He yawned widely behind his hand and followed the other boy to his bike.

* * *

><p>They rode in silence until they reached the Echizen household and Ryoma had gotten off the back of Momoshiro's bike.<p>

"Well how about I pick you up tomorrow then?" He older teen asked. "Don't want you to be late after all."

"Che. Whatever." Ryoma muttered opening the gate. "Bye."

"Hey." Momoshiro protested when the door was closed before him immediately. "See you tomorrow." He called out before driving home. "_Heh, I can't believe he came back so suddenly... but well it's great._" He thought happily.

* * *

><p>Ryoma entered his home and called out to Nanako. "Tadaima."<p>

"O-kaeri." His cousin answered happily coming out of the kitchen. "Did you have a nice day, Ryoma-san?"

"Yeah." He muttered taking of his shoes.

"That's great. Do you want me to make you some dinner?" Nanako offered when they walked into the kitchen.

Ryoma went over to the fridge and got himself a Ponta. "No, thanks. I had burgers with Kikumaru-sempai and Momo-sempai."

"Ah, that's great. How are they doing?" She clapped her hands together happily and watched him walk back out of the kitchen.

"Fine. I'm going to bed. 'Night." He muttered tiredly.

"Good night, Ryoma-san. Sleep well." Nanako called after him used to his behavior.

* * *

><p>TBC<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Well that was the third chapter. I hope you liked it. Please leave a review and tell me what you think. (Even if you didn't like it – tell me what I can do better.)

And don't forget to vote for Ryoma's partner or a side-pairing. =)

Oh and do you want Ryoma to get his hair cut like it was before? Or keep it long? You'll get to know why he let it grow in the first place later on. It's still time for you to decide how you want it.

**Japanese vocabulary****:**

Since one asked: You call a person "sempai" when he or she is your senior at school or at work. While a "kouhai" is a junior.

Hai. – Yes.

"Tadaima." - "I'm back."

"O-kaeri." - "Welcome home."

lg Amon


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